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Robert E. Howard's health


The health of American author Robert E. Howard, especially his mental health, has been the focus of the biographical and critical analysis of his life. In terms of physical health, Howard had a weak heart which he treated by taking digitalis. The precise nature of Howard's mental health has been much debated, both during his life and following his suicide. Three main points of view exists. Some have declared that Howard suffered from an Oedipus complex or similar mental disorder. Another viewpoint is that Howard suffered from major depressive disorder. The third view is that Howard had no disorders and his suicide was a common reaction to stress.

Howard had a weak heart, which was treated by taking digitalis. The first indication of this problem came when, while working with an oil-field surveyor in the period before he became a successful author, Howard passed out in the heat. A later diagnosis confirmed that his heart had a mild tendency to race under stress and he was told that a heavy blow to his chest could be fatal.

On December 29, 1933 Howard was involved in a traffic accident. Driving back from a football game in Brownwood with three friends in the mist and rain, he crashed into a flag pole in Ranger. A piece of windshield cut his neck close to the jugular vein and he was forced heavily into the steering column. This impact to his chest could have been lethal with his heart problems but he escaped with just bruised ribs. None of the other passengers were seriously injured either and one escaped injury altogether. The town helped to pay for repairs to the car and the flag pole was eventually removed following further accidents.

In the years since his suicide, there has been a lot of speculation about Robert E. Howard's mental health. Even during his life, others in Cross Plains thought of him as crazy or odd. Some have suggested that he had an Oedipus complex, others have found evidence for clinical depression, and others still have diagnosed him as being mentally healthy. His act of suicide is often the basis of these opinions. Almost all speculation is in the form of amateur-psychoanalysis from people with no qualifications in the field.

The people of Cross Plains considered Howard to be an odd person and possibly "crazy". Cross Plains was mainly used to blue-collar agricultural and oil field work, as well as professions such as a teacher or doctor; they were not used to some who only wrote all day. From their perspective, Howard did not seem to be doing any work at all. His neighbors even complained about the noise he made typing, as well as loudly reading his own narration as he did so, throughout the day.


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